News EA denies Origin spies on Battlefield 3 PC players

play BF3 without origin....

http://www.geeksailor.com/battlefield-3-crack-multiplayer-without-origin/

 

What people seem to forget is that there is always going to be an immense amount of personal data on your PC, and that, as Sony have demonstrated- among others- the security of the software companies hoovering up that data is laughable. Sure folks don't have a problem with EA snarfing their data, but what happens when they get hacked and lose it all?

The bottom line is you've got to expect EA to get hacked wide open one of these days, because sooner or later it happens to everybody. So if you're going to run an un-sandboxed version of Origin on your system then you have to be confident that nothing it might find is of value to anybody. Not EA, not hackers, not anybody.

 

Comparing those things you mentioned to third party apps scanning my PC isn't really the same, is it?

 

I didnt buy the game because of Origin

 

I, too, didn't buy the game because of Origin. I bought it because of DICE, their previous excellent games, the good reviews and how much I enjoyed BF2.

I love BF3 and I'm glad I bought it.

 

i don't care . just gonna enjoy bf3.

 

Bweh...look yourself but:

EULA 9.16.11

Sections 1.C and 2 below describe the data EA may collect and use in the
course of providing services and support to you in connection with the
Application.

excerp from 1CYou acknowledge and agree that the Application may use information
regarding your computer, hardware, media, software and your use of the
Application to validate your license rights and to update the Application.

there it is. All your software and media and hardware MAY be collected and used.
Again, I'm not saying they're using this clause at the moment.

I also know this is probably not what they MEAN, but it is what it says.
I think* it's harmless and it may mean they gotta check for their own software, and your drivers and settings, and look for cheating software.

*I'm not EA, I cannot know, can you?

 

Scenario: some time down the line, origins servers get hacked and said hackers begin harvesting personal data from myriad PCs and/or origin's database.

Like I have previously said; "The less companies poking around my PC, the better." I don't care as much that origin may snoop through my software and send me angry letters about cracked games, but about what happens when hands even dirtier than EA's manage to take personal information.

The less companies and organisations that have any personal info on you, the less likely of having that info turn up in unsavory places.

 

How does hacking the Origin servers lead to you being able to harvest personal data from PCs directly? I can see them being able to access data already held on the servers but that's it. And it again all comes back to what EA are actually holding on you beyond what you have provided thru your own volition. I've still not seen any credible reason to suspect they're harvesting anything from customer's PCs beyond that would be reasonably expected when using a program such as Origin.

 

Steam collects data on the hardware it is installed on, but the big difference is it asks you specifically first and informs you at the time it is doing it, then shows you what it is going to collect before you ok it. This information is then publicly available as the statistics showing the percentages of hardware used by steam users.

IMHO this is the CORRECT way to do it. EA is basically saying you HAVE to do it to play the game and you won't see the details being reported. Corporate bosses need to learn more about transparency engendering trust.

 

they might find my midget picture stash

 

There are plenty of other "fantastic" games out there which don't pose a risk to your privacy, and it makes more sense to support developers and publishers that respect your individual and consumer rights rather than handing your cash to those who see you as no more than an exploitable resource. Make no mistake - if EA think they can get away with small violations of privacy, they will escalate to larger ones.

As to having "nothing to hide" - you, sir, are either being naive (try looking at your webpage history through a stranger's eyes and see how much information you can infer from it - or consider the effect incorrect data or a processing error could have) or a complete non-entity who buys nothing, views nothing and posts nothing online.

As far as Steam is concerned, similar concerns should apply - Valve's EULA is similar in many respects (see section 5) but without the marketing/third party data transfer provisions.

 

As you have nothing to hide when can I install CCTV inside your house and perhaps you would like to provide all your logins passwords and bank details as these don't need to be kept private either.
Personally I am fed up of DRM meaning the paying customer gets a worse service than a pirate, So I no longer pay for games with DRM I don't like (yes that includes steam) I'm not deprived of anything the only people who have lost out are EA as I haven't paid them.

 

Well thats it for me no BF3 or any other EA/DICE game that requires origin to launch and play it,Due to me currently being an anti racism/fascism campaigner I do not want my IP shared or my activity shared and monitored by EA or any other company EA wish to share that info with

 

What annoys me about Origin, which I have problems with for FIFA 12 which I bought on disc (but oddly enough not the Origin-free FIFA 11), is that the software is still beta/pre-release. I'm amazed that EA are getting away with forcing unfinished software on its paying customers. It that even legal?

 

Because anyone really gives a monkey's about your 'campaigning'. All those Illuminati racists that control the gaming world have just been looking for a way to take you down through your computer. If you're that paranoid, do what everyone else who shares your paranoia does and sandbox Origin so that it cannot access your data.

 

Sandboxing isn't a 100% guarantee of safety - especially on 64-bit Windows systems where security software is limited by Microsoft's Patchguard (though malware tends not to be...) as noted by Sandboxie themselves.

So the best approach with untrusted software is not to sandbox, but to boycott it. If you wish to "trust" EA, then that's your privilege but to tolerate such behaviour in a product you're paying for strikes me as utter madness.

 

And which behaviour would this be exactly?

 

Um, that discussed in this thread?

 

None of which, aside from the wording of the EULA, has any evidence in support of the claims and appears to be nothing more than hearsay and conjecture.